Sedimentation apparatus



S. SHAFER. JR.. ET AL SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS March 14, 1939. 2,150,865

4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 25, 1936 /mMM/zmmmzmsmmw Samuel Shag/reir,AJr., and Regsj. Seidenstrickez;

. flauw# March 14, 1939. s. sHAFER, JR., ET AL 2,150,865

SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1956 4 SheiLS-Sheeb 2 mwg@ Marh14, 1939. s. sHAFER, JR.. r-:rAL 2,150,865

l SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS Filed Sept). 25, 1956 4Sheets-Sheet 3 'ASamuelS/aa .Jrg d Regis. Seiden/strickel;

March 14, 1939. s, SHAFER. JR.. ETAL 2,150,865

SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS Filed sept. 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented'Mar. 14, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,150,865 A. sEmMEN'rATIoN APPARATUSV SamuelShafer, Jr., and Regis A. Seidenstricker, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors toChain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis..,a corporation of Wis- Applicationseptember 25, 1936,seria1No. 102,624

7 claims. (c1. gio-55) ber to the column I1 is a bridge structure I8here The in vention relates to sedimentationapparatus, and has forone'of its objects to provide an improved modification of the apparatusdescribed and claimed in the prior U. S. Patent No.`

1,947,429, granted February 13, 1934, on an application iiled by DarwinW. Townsend land .James Brower, entitled Sludge remover.

With the above and other objects in view which will'appear as thedescription proceeds,

lo the invention consists in the novel details ,of

construction and combinations and arrange.-

ments of. parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularlypointed out in the/#appended claims.

I5 Referring to theaccompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, in which like reference characters designate like partsin all the views:

Figure 1 is a partial plan view of a sedimentation chamber with sludgeremoving apparatus constructed in accordance with the present' inventionassociated therewith;

Fig. Z is a vertical sectional elevational view of the parts shown inFig. l, taken approximately on the plane indicated by the line 2--2 ofvsaid figure;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical' sectional view partly in elevationthrough thecentral column and driving mechanism for the sludgecollector;

3o Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged vertical sectional view at rightangles to Fig. 3, taken approximately` on the plane indicated by line 44 ofthe said figure; I

Fig. 5 is a vertical 'sectional view taken ap- .,5 proximately on theplane indicated by the line 5--5 of Fig. 4; and l l Figs. v6, 7 and 8are detail perspective yviews of 'the several elements constituting auniversal coupling between the power unit and the hollow 40 shaft o fthe sludge collector.

In the said drawings, Ill indicates a sedimentation chamber preferablycircular in plan and having side walls II and bottom wall 12, whichlatter-is provided with a centrally located sludge' 45 outlet I3communicating with the-sludge conduit I4, as best shown in Figs. 2 and3. Positioned upon the bottom-l2 surrounding the outlet I3 is theannular bearing member I5 to which is secured as by bolting or otherwisea spider-like ,-,0 base or pedestal I6. Surmounting this base or`pedestal and flxedly` secured thereto is a vertically extending column I1 here shown as comprising 'a tube or pipe which extends upwardly to apoint above the normalliquid level in the chamber.

55 Extending'from the side wall II ofthe chamshown as comprising a pairof spaced I-beams l I9 which are surmounted throughout the greaterportion of their length by a plate 20 which constitutes a walkway overwhich attendants may '5 pass to the center portion of the chamber. -`TheI-beams I9 are suitably secured at their outer ends to the side wall IIand at their inner ends are provided with a pair of transverse channelirons or beams 2| which embrace and are rigidly 10 secured to the upperend of. the column I1. The said column thus serves as asupport for theinner end of the bridge structure and suitable brace members 22 may beprovided at right angles to the beams I9 and extending therefrom to thel5 sidewalls II in order to brace the structure laterally.

' Hung from the beams I9 is an annular feed well 25 into which theinfluent conduit 26 discharges. This will, as best shown in Fig. 3,c'om- 20 prisesinner and outer cylindrical members 21 and 28 joined byan annular bottom member 29, and the said inner member may, ifdesired,'be provided with an adjustable Weir 30 for controlling theheight vof the liquid within the well. 'As 2.7

.will be readily understood by those-skilled in the art, the incomingliquid from the conduit 26 enters the well and lls the space between thewalls 21 and 28 until it overflows the Weir 30, whereupon it passesdownwardly into the chamber sub- 30 stantially axially thereof. Themembers 21 and 28 may be concentrically disposed, but if they arearranged eccentrically as shown in Fig. 3,

a larger volume capacity will be provided at the discharge port of theinfluence conduit 26, which will reduce the velocity of the liquid'andgive a `more uniform lfeed thereof over the weir 30.

The sludge removing mechanism is in' general similar to that disclosedand claimed in the said Townsend and Brower PatentA 1,947,429, andcomprises a pair of sludge conduits 35 each prol vided witha pluralityof sludge collecting nozzles 36 into which the sludge is received under`the action of the hydrostatic head of. the li id-in the chamber. Theinner ends of the cond ts 35 are 45 connected to a hollow manifoldmember 31 which encloses the spider pedestal- I6 as clearly shown inFigs. 3 and 4. The said manifold member i s preferably provided .with alignum vitae or other similar bearing material 33v which rests upon theso outer portion of the bearingmember I5, whereby the manifold 31 andthe conduits 35 are mounted for rotation ina horizontal plane adjacentthe oor of the isedimentation chamber.' The maxilfold 31 has secured toits top a hollow shaft 3| 55 which surrounds the stationary column I 1,as

will ,be readily understood from the drawings.I

`mechanism at its lower end.

'Ihe driving mechanism for the shaft 39 comprises a suitable power unit40 mounted adjacent the inner end of the bridge structure Il andpreferably comprising an electric motor having associated with lt asuitable reduction gearing, since the sludge collecting conduits 35 areordinarily rotated at a relatively slow speed, say from 5 to l5 feet perminute for the outermost sludge collector. The power shaft 4i of theunit 4l has keyed to it a driving vmember 42 (see Figs. 3 and 5), whichis connected by means of a shear pin 4I to an element 44 of a universalcoupling, which also includes a floating member Il having oppositelydisposed lugs I6 and 41 arranged at right angles to one another andreceived respectively in companion recesses in the member M and the faceof a pinion Il which is journalled on a stud Il carried by thesupporting base or member 5l which in turn is supported by the inner endof the bridge structure Il.

, member 5l has an upst-anding annular flange 5I concentric with thehollow column i1 upon which is journalled a gear 52 which meshes withthe pinion Il. As best shown in Figs. 5 and B upstanding lugs BI.

this 4gear is formed of two complementary sections which are bolted orotherwise secured tgether as will be readily/understood and whichsections are each provid with a pair of spaced Mounted above the gear I2is a noating disc or member 54 provided on its under surface with a pairof diametrically ldisposed lugs I receivable in the spaces between thelugs DI of the gear. 'Ihe upper face of the floating member 54 islikewise provided with a pair of diametrically disposed lugs 56 whichare arranged at right angles to the lugs 55, as clearly shown in Fig.'7, and which-aregreceivable in recesses or grooves 5l provided in theunder face of the driving'member I! which is splined to the upper end ofthe hollow shaft 39. 'Ihere is thu's provided a universal coupling forthe shaft 39 which will take care of any'misalignment of the parts orwobbling of the shaft during rotation,

'as will be readilyunderstood.

The floor ofthe chamber Il may be provided with a drain opening .lcommunicating with the sludge conduit il and normally closed by a plugor other similar member 6I which, however, may be withdrawn should it bedesired to drain the contents of the cha'mber independently of thesludge conduits 3l.

The slugs conduits :s may be supportedby' suitable. vertical andhorizontal brace rods and the former of which extend angularly upwardfrom' the conduits to the upper portion of the hollow shaft JI, whilethe latter extend angularly outward from said conduits to the transversebrace rods or pipes Il, as will be clear from Figs. l and 2.

While one form of the invention has been illustrated and described, itis obvious that those skilled in` the art iay vary the details ofconstruction as wel] as the precise arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it isnot'wished toY be limited to the above disclosure except as may be bythe claims.

Thissaid` aisoes above the level of the liquid in said chamber;`

a support iixedly secured tothe upper end por- `tion of said column; apower drive unit mounted on' said support adjacent said column; and vingconnections between said power unit and' he upper end ofsaidhollowshaft.

2. In sedimentation apparatus, a chamber having a side wall and a bottomprovided a centrally located sludge outlet;v a fixed ped tal spanningsaid outlet but affording communication from the chamber thereto;- afixed column surmounting said. pedestal; a bridge structure extendingfrom the side wall of said chamber to said column and having its inwardportion supported by the latter; a sludge removing mechanism journalledon the chamber .bottom independently of said column for rotation aboutsaid outlet and discharging thereto; a hollow shaft surrounding saidcolumn and secured to said sludge removing mechanism; a power unitmounted on said bridge structure; and driving connections between saidpower unit and said hollow shaft, arranged to accommodate wobbling ofthe latter.

3. In sedimentation apparatus, a chamber having a sidewall and a bottomwall, the latter being provided with a sludge outlet; a xed annularbearing member surrounding said outlet; a spider pedestal secured tosaid bearing member spanning said outlet; a column secured 4to andvextending upwardly from said pedestal; a bridge structure extending fromthe side wall of said chamber to said column and having its inner endsupported by the latter; a hollow manifold enclosing said pedestal andjournalled for rotation thereabout on said bearing member; sludgeconduits carried by and communicating with said manifold; a hollow shaftsecured to said manifold and surrounding said column; a power unitmounted on said bridge structure; and driving connections between saidpower unit and hollow shaft.

4. In sedimentation apparatus, a chamber having a bottom `provided witha sludge outlet; vil. `iixed column extending upwardly from said bottomabove said outlet; sludge removing mechanism in said chamber including ahollow shaft surrounding. but wholly free from contact with aimee zontalplane adjacent the chamber iloor; a shaft extending from said mechanismto above the 4liquid level; a power unit and a support there-l for,above said liquid level; and driving connections between said power unitand shaft, including a wheel journalled on said support, a couplingmember carried by `said shaft, and a floating power transmitting memberbetween said wheel and coupling member.

6. In sedimentation apparatus, a chamber having a sludge outlet in itsdoor; sludge collecting mechanism arranged tor rotation about, anddischarge to, said outlet, said mechanism including an upwardlyextending driving shaft; a power unit `and a support therefor above 4theliquid level:

a pinion journalled on saidY support; a universal unit; agearjoiirnalledy on said support and meshlng with said pinion; and auniversal coupling between said gear and said sludge collector shaft.

7. A liquid feeding apparatus for sedimenta- Y `tion chambers and thelike, comprising an inner tubular member; an outer tubular membereccentrically surrounding said inner member; a vplate closing one end ofthe eccentric annular space between said members; and a feed conduit-discharging into. 'said space at substantially its point of greatestwidth.

SAMUEL SHAFER. JR. REGIS A. SEIDENSTRICKER.

